The Night Watch. 🕯️
The Rijksmuseum is a cathedral dedicated to art. At its altar hangs Rembrandt's *The Night Watch*. It is massive (3.63m x 4.37m) and loud.
The Hand
Look at the Captain's hand. Rembrandt painted the shadow of the hand falling on the Lieutenant's coat, creating a 3D effect that makes it feel like he is reaching out of the frame.
The Milkmaid
Down the hall is Vermeer's *The Milkmaid*. It is the opposite of *The Night Watch*: small, silent, and obsessed with the way light hits a piece of bread.
The Colors. 🌻
While the Rijksmuseum is about prestige, the Van Gogh Museum is about intimacy. It houses the largest collection of his works in the world.
Self-Portraits
Walk the timeline. You can see his style change as his mental state deteriorated. The eyes in the self-portraits seem to follow you with an intense, desperate question.
Almond Blossom
Painted for his newborn nephew. Unlike his swirling, chaotic works, this one is calm, blue, and hopeful. It is a fan favorite.
Book Ahead
This is not a suggestion. It is a requirement. Tickets sell out weeks in advance. Do not show up without one.
Jodenbreestraat
Bankruptcy
Rembrandt House. 🖌️
Visit the actual house where Rembrandt lived from 1639 to 1658, before he went bankrupt and was evicted.
The Studio:
Stand in the room where he painted his masterpieces. The light still floods in from the north windows exactly as it did 400 years ago. You can smell the linseed oil and pigment mixing demonstrations.
Modern Design. 🛁
The Stedelijk Museum looks like a giant white bathtub has landed on the Museumplein. It houses modern art and Dutch design.
De Stijl
See the works of Mondrian and Rietveld. Red, blue, yellow, and straight lines. It is the visual language that defines Dutch modernism.
The Escalator
The entrance escalator is enclosed in a futuristic yellow tube. It feels like entering a spaceship, a stark contrast to the 19th-century brick of the Rijksmuseum next door.